Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Smile at your own risk!

Here are few "politically correct" politics memes which I created in few months. Not sure how much of it will tickle your funny bone. Let me know, if you liked any! (Bear with typos).

1. You know who is the car! The police is not real.


2.  Ahhhhhhh (This is 100% real image)


 3. Whispers

4. The Preparation 

5. Deputy CM (Start with Stalin dialogue , then KK and then Stalin

6. Paasa Thalaivanuku (This was done on KK's birthday to say his prowess) 

7. The Agony 

8. Annee Manmohan Annee (When Modi met MMS after becoming PM)

9. Pothum Pothum 

10. Swacha Bharat 

11. Gold.. Gold (Not political though) 

12. MODIavatharam 

13. Who is kungfu? 



Monday, September 14, 2015

Vikram - Revisiting Tamil Films 9



When the techno music started to play in my play list, I thought I hadn’t seen this film for a long time. As usual of any Kamal film, I keep seeing in the forums about this film, they term it as “far ahead film”. 

A very distant memory of mine said that I had seen this film while it was released; my mom confirmed that she took me while I was a small boy. It stuck me- I was a Rajinikanth fan then, so I didn’t like Vikram even a wee bit and also I didn’t understand. Now seeing it for the second time after so many years, I still didn’t like this film, even after understanding what is meant by “Onboard computer”, “Password”, “Program”, “Inter Continental Ballistic Missile”. I guess these terms make this film as “far ahead film” and not the film as such.

I was particular to see (hear) the dialogues of Sujatha, but not much either, as the 1/4th of the film was in a fictional Salamia language!. The first 1/4th of the film was serious, and then latter it got completely changed into a B-grade James Bond spoof film. Sujatha proficiency in this film was only to add a new word to the Tamil lexicon – “Villaimagalin Payan”.

Every character went over board or too dramatic, except Sugirdharaja (Sathyaraj), because he is villain- he can go overboard and he got to. Mr. Rao (Or fondly called as Rayan by Sugirdharaja) is too innocent to be chief of Central Intelligence. Thangaraj (Ragavendra) is too modest to ride a bicycle (Oh, 1986, but he can still have the uncle's Bajaj Chetak). V K Ramaswamy, as a minister (must be Defense or Home minster) was too unintelligent to differentiate between a nuclear arsenal and Sivakasi cracker!. Vikram (Kamal) was more arrogant or to be precise he was like a “arrogant kid” first and in the later half I guess he fell for Dimple Kapadia (off screen!)

I thought Sriharikota was to be satellite launching station. Mr. Agni Putra was a laughing stock. How can they transport a missile and its nuclear device in the same vehicle, all ready to launch!. There is no GPS system for Mr. Agni Putra, but once it is launched they can track it (The final scene when kapal and Rao see in the monitor). Here in this scene, if Illayaraja hadn’t played the “relief” background music, we couldn’t have comprehended what is going on. And those Salamia guards, uffff, even Ommakutchi Narashiman would have kicked them to their grave.

Few likable- Songs and its lyrics. The title song picturisation.

Check its Wikipedia page. Someone had narrated the story better than the film.

Other Tamil films you might be interested from this "Revisiting" series- Manal Kayaru, May Madham, Taj Mahal, Baasha, MMKR, Hey Ram, Sabapathy, Raja Paarvai.

**Above pic a snapshot from the film. Design cut-paste by the blogger



Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Raja Paarvai - Revisiting Tamil Films 8

raja-paarvai-kamalhaasan-tamil-film


The film starts with unusual titling; it just lists the names of the people who worked in the film, without mentioning their line of work.

Raja Paarvai stands tall from the first scene, considering that was the period when the likes of the Mahendrans, Balumahendras and Bharathirajas were making waves in Tamil cinema. Kamal would have thought that he shouldn’t be left behind; roped with his mentors Ananthu and RC Shakthi to make this film. This was the first of the many films he had to work with Sangeetham Srinivasa Rao.

Sans Kamal’s visually impaired characterization, the story will be the same old love story, which has been tried and tested formula. Technically this film should stand apart from the early 1980’s films, especially in film editing. Split cuts were widely used- the audio of the next scene starts before the current scene actually cuts away. This gives a fastness to the film, which is otherwise a little slow paced or no masala elements.

There are few scenes in which the audio of the current scene and the next scene is matched or same. Example, after Ragu finishes his first instrumental in the school stage, the indistinct muttering sound of the theater audience is overlapped by the similar gabbling noise in the market on the next scene as Ragu walks to his room.

To illustrate the same technique, there is a scene when Cheenu (Y. G. Mahendran) and his friend’s sniffs (like a dog) at the whisky bottle and the next scene start with a dog panting.

Cutting into darkness is another technique which is used here; this is widely used in Hitchcock’s Rope. Example- When Nancy (Madhavi) meets Ragu in his room for the first, at the end of the scene the power goes off and it becomes dark, cut to next scene, the camera starts with the Nancy’s black hair as she walks off from the camera to reveal it as another location.

Another example, when Raghu explains his past life to Nancy as they walk into the darkness of the Woodlands hotel lounge and next scene starts with the flashback- camera facing Ragu (Kid) head.

There is a moment when the slow-motion is used in a unique way. When Nancy is waiting for her father to leave the home, she is very anxious, so that she can leave to see Ragu, but from her point of view, her father is taking more time to do his routines. We see all his actions in slow-motion, whereas on the same shot on the other end, Nancy movements are normal. 

Initial days of Thota Tharani, he started to change the urban home interiors- big ball shaped lights, mattress without the cot, Ragu room- a wall made up of windows.

Not to forget the music by Illayaraja. For me Andhi Mazai Pozhigiradu is a neck-and-neck race between Illayaraja and Vairamuthu. Whereas Azage Azagu was a lyrict’ film song. 

I read somewhere the final church scene looks similar from the Hollywood film The Graduate (1967), even if it is so, it doesn’t matter as the end was apt. Somehow it also reminded Goutham Vasudev Menon’ Minnale (2001).

**Above is the fan-made poster. Photoshoped from original poster by this blogger.

Other Tamil films you might be interested from this "Revisiting" series- Manal KayaruMay MadhamTaj MahalBaashaMMKRHey Ram, Sabapathy.